Kaijo Days
by anim8or
Summary: A one-shot collection centering around Kaijo - or, more accurately, Kasamatsu and Kise's friendship. (Chapter 7: Christmas)
1. 1) Kasamatsucchi

**Title:** Kasamatsucchi

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** Friendship/Humor

 **Word Count:** 1,661

 **Time Period:** Mid/late Spring, Kise's first year of High School.

 **Summary:** Kasamatsu decided that he hates Kise, but how long will that last?

* * *

"Um... Kasamatsu?"

"What do you _want_ , Kobori?"

"Why is Kise balancing a balloon on his finger?"

Kasamatsu growled, slamming the basketball in his hands down on the smooth, polished surface that was Kaijo's court. "Is this really important?" he demanded, and Kobori blinked in alarm. Clearly, the steely-eyed captain's temper was running _very_ short that day.

"Well, I'd like to know," the brunet said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I _am_ the vice captain. We're supposed to be practicing, and Kise's standing over there with a balloon. Is it some type of new training technique you found?"

"Nope. But he thinks it is, so if you talk to him, make sure it stays that way."

Kobori arched one eyebrow and watched Kasamatsu take an impressive three-point shot. "Why?"

Kasamatsu sent him a glare that made chills run down his spine. "Because he's an idiot, and it's safer for him to stay over there, far away from me." He turned back to the basket and aimed another shot. He clearly thought their conversation was over, but Kobori was a bit concerned. While Kise was, in fact, an idiot, Kasamatsu didn't generally lose his temper with the model so early in their practices.

He usually waited until at least an hour in before he started getting quite this angry.

"What'd Kise do to get you so mad?" Kobori pressed, crossing his arms and waiting for the captain to explain.

Kasamatsu made two more shots before taking a deep breath and walking over to sit on the bench, indicating for Kobori to take a seat beside him. "It's kind of a long story."

"I've got time to listen."

"Okay," the captain sighed. "So, first off, he called me at three a.m., just to ask me if I knew how to get chocolate milk stains out of a white t-shirt. Then, when I hung up, he texted me thirteen times before six. _Then,_ when I got to school, he ran into me like a linebacker and fell on top of me." Kasamatsu shuddered at the memory. "I got mud all over the back of my jacket, and I didn't have time to get it off before the bell rang."

Kobori nodded his head. "I can see why that would upset you."

"That isn't all!" the black-haired young man exclaimed, his eyes wide and furious. "We have math together, you know? So, that idiot sat right beside me, and proceeded to slide notes onto my desk. Eventually, I wrote him one back and the teacher caught me. I got sent to the principal's office."

"Just for a note?" Kobori questioned, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion. "From what you've told me before, that teacher really likes you. I'm sure if you explained that Kise had been writing you notes first, he would've understood."

Kasamatsu hesitated. "It... wasn't really the fact that I wrote the note in the first place, but more of what was written in the note that concerned him."

"What did you write?" Kobori wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to know.

The other young man exhaled through his nose before replying. "I told him that he needed to stop writing me notes, or I would ensure that he died a slow, painful death. Maybe not in such nice wording," he admitted sheepishly, biting his lower lip. "But I didn't really mean it. He was just on my nerves."

Kobori bit back laughter, for fear that the other, slightly-insane, boy would hit him. "Well, death threats are generally taken seriously."

"Apparently." Kasamatsu crossed his arms sharply. "The principal asked me a ton of weird questions for, like, half an hour, and Kise was called in. And this is the worst part."

"It is?" For some reason, Kobori couldn't quite believe that.

"Mhm. So, the idiot started bawling - literally, crying his eyes out - and begged the principal to let me go. He said a ton of crap about how he knew I would never hurt him, and that I was his best friend, and stuff like that." Kasamatsu's fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. "The principal ended up letting me off the hook."

Kobori blinked slowly in thought. "So... he helped you out of the situation?"

"Glad to know you're paying attention, Kobori," Kasamatsu said, voice filled with dry sarcasm. His expression implied that he wasn't up for any unnecessary questions.

"Why are you so mad at him? It seems to me like he's just trying to be friends with you."

"I have literally no reason - no reason at all - to be friends with him," the captain replied, glaring over at Kise, who was still trying to balance the balloon on his finger. The first-year seemed pretty determined. "I've only known him for a few weeks, and I've already decided that he's a cocky, idiotic brat and that I hate him."

Kobori couldn't let that one slide. "Kasamatsu, the only thing that he's said that was really overconfident was when he first joined the team, when he said that he was more important than us or better at basketball or whatever. But after you talked him down, he hasn't done anything like it again. In fact, I think he's been trying to get on your good side ever since."

Kasamatsu scoffed. "By tackling me into the mud and keeping me up at night? Yes, that sounds like he's trying his _best_ to make me happy," he deadpanned, narrowing his eyes at Kobori. "Face facts. He's completely stupid."

"I'm just saying that you could give him a chance." Kobori chuckled softly. "He's kind of like a dog. You keep kicking him-" or punching him, or throwing things at him, or threatening him, "-but he keeps coming right back to you with his tail wagging."

The captain growled lowly. "That's only because he's an idiot. You're giving dogs a bad name."

"I think you're being a little harsh-"

It was at that moment that Kise decided to come bounding over, his head tipped back and the balloon balanced precariously on his nose. "Kasamatsucchi!" he trilled gleefully, peeking down at his senpais with a bright grin. "Look at what I can do!"

Kasamatsu's reaction was instantaneous. He leaped to his feet and planted a foot directly to the blond's stomach, causing the latter to flail before falling flat on his back. The balloon drifted down after. "That isn't what I told you to do, you idiot!" he snarled viciously, practically looming over Kise. "I told you specifically to balance it on your finger and..." He broke off, mid-rant, and his eyebrows suddenly furrowing in confusion. "What... what did you call me?"

Kise's eyes were filled with fake tears as he looked up at Kasamatsu reproachfully. "What do you mean?"

"When you first ran up to me, moron! What was the name you used?!" he demanded, clenching his fist in a threatening manner. Kobori was actually getting a little nervous himself, and he wasn't even the one on the receiving end of Kasamatsu's fury.

The golden young man's eyes widened and a smile suddenly broke out on his face. "I called you Kasamatsucchi!" he replied happily, and Kasamatsu's eyes darkened dangerously.

Kobori decided to step in, putting his own life at risk in place of the first-year's. "Kasamatsu, maybe that's just something he calls his friends. You probably heard him call that one Seirin guy Kurokocchi, right?"

The suggestion had the exact opposite effect than Kobori had originally intended.

"You've got no right to call me anything apart from what I tell you to call me!" Kasamatsu shouted furiously, his face turning a bit red. "You stuck-up first year! I don't want to be lumped in with people you consider your friends!"

"That's not what I call my friends."

" _What_?" Kasamatsu demanded, still seething but clearly caught off-guard.

"That isn't what I call my friends," Kise repeated, looking slightly hurt. "I only called you that because I respect you. As a person, a player, and a captain." Before Kasamatsu could speak again, he continued, "You probably won't believe me, so you can ask anyone else from the Generation of Miracles. They know."

Kasamasu fell silent, staring down at the first-year with frigid blue eyes, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. After a moment or two, he knelt down so that he and Kise were eye-to-eye before he slowly replied, "You'll call me 'senpai' or 'captain' from now on. Then I'll know you respect me enough to do what I say." And then, the captain rested one hand on top of Kise's blond head.

The contact lasted two heartbeats at most, but it spoke volumes. Kasamatsu soon turned his back on the first-year and headed over to the bin to pick up a fresh basketball.

Kobori took a second to get over the shock of seeing the raven-headed young man's sudden change, before he followed him to the bin. "What was that all about?" He couldn't help but ask. He was too curious.

Kasamatsu turned the basketball over in his hands, as if contemplating what to say. Finally, he nodded his head decisively. "I guess he's not completely horrible," he said. He stuck his nose up a bit higher than necessary, as if to regain some of the pride he'd lost because of the statement, and turned to line up a shot.

If one knew just who Kasamatsu Yukio was, they'd know just how big a compliment that had been.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone! Welcome to my Kaijo one-shot collection! This is mostly going to be centered around Kasamatsu and Kise, though. Just a small warning.**

 **There will be no yaoi whatsoever, but I _do_ broship them. The genres of this collection will be random - some will be funny, others fluffy, others darker. The rating will range from K to T. ****I may or may not take prompts. I most likely won't, but if you have an idea, don't hesitate to PM me!**

 **I have no idea how long this thing will be. I'll update incredibly sporadically. Whenever my inner Kasamatsu decides he wants out, I guess xD**

 **So, please drop a review if you enjoyed, or if you'd want to see more! You can also read my other KnB fics if you'd like!**

 **Disclaimer:** I definitely do not own KnB or its characters. Tadatoshi Fujimaki does.

 **God bless all of you! Have a wonderful day.**

 **anim8or**


	2. 2) We Love You

**Title:** We Love You

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

 **Word Count:** 2,115

 **Time Period:** Winter Cup Quarter Finals

 **Summary:** What I believe would happen if Aomine hadn't shown up to confront Haizaki after Fukuda Sogo's loss.

 **Notes:** This was suggested by the user Chick1966

* * *

Kise was fairly certain he'd never been this tired in his entire life, and his foot and ankle were hurting so badly that he could barely stand it. After his showdown with Haizaki, his team had praised and congratulated them in their own ways, and he appreciated each one. Hayakawa's screaming, even though he couldn't understand what he was saying; Moriyama's shoulder pats and proud grins; Kobori's hug and broad smiles; Kasamatsu wrapping his foot up and telling him sincerely how well he'd done.

That last one had been the best, in his opinion.

Kise had gotten out faster than the rest of his team - mostly because he hadn't wanted to get in the shower and stand on his hurt foot for so long, and partly because he'd wanted some fresh air after the intense game. He'd known that Haizaki was going to be difficult, but he hadn't expected the silver-eyed boy to resort to hurting him. He'd thought he was more honest a player than that.

Regardless, Kise supposed that Haizaki had always been like that. It didn't mean that it wasn't disappointing, though.

A sigh escaped him as he headed over to lean against one of the trees outside the gym, favoring his injured foot and closing his eyes. He hoped the damage wasn't too bad - that it was just twisted or sprained or something small. Kasamatsu had said to take it easy for a while, but he couldn't do that. He had to keep training to take himself - no, his team - to the finals. It was absolutely necessary. He decided he'd go to the outdoor court at the park tomorrow and work on his style. He'd almost been beaten by a reject of the Generation of Miracles - how could he expect to face those with infinitely more power than that if he didn't practice?

"Are you pleased with yourself?" a contemptuous, hateful voice drawled from behind him.

Kise spun around, cringing at the sharp pain that jolted its way up his leg, and looked up. He wasn't exactly _surprised_ to see Haizaki standing there, but he wasn't overjoyed about it, either. He hoped he wasn't in for a fight, but the hatred in the black-haired young man's eyes didn't look promising.

"I won, so yes, I am pleased with myself. I'm sorry about what I said on the court, though," he admitted, straightening his posture so that he was eye-to-eye with the other boy. Perhaps if he apologized, he could steer some of that anger away and avoid a true confrontation. He didn't want this to come to blows. "It wasn't nice of me to talk to you like that."

Haizaki was quick to respond. He lunged forward and Kise found himself pinned against the tree he'd just been leaning on, Haizaki's forearm pressed against his throat. He struggled a bit, but the other teen was stronger, more rested and in considerably less pain than he was himself.

"You're not sorry," he growled, his face mere inches from Kise's. "Not yet." His next words caused a chill of fear to creep up Kise's spine. "But don't worry - I'll make you sorry."

* * *

The whole of Kaijo had been looking for Kise for about fifteen minutes, and Moriyama noticed that Kasamatsu was getting a little anxious. He understood his captain's fear. If Haizaki had done what he did on the court, what more would he do if he and Kise were alone?

Moriyama felt his phone buzz in his pocket and picked it up, putting it to his ear. "Hello? Kobori? Did-"

"Did you find him yet?" Kasamatsu interjected swiftly and urgently, standing close so that he could hear what was being said on the other end. Moriyama saw the raven-haired boy's fists clench and shake a bit.

"No," Kobori replied, his voice a bit crackly from the bad reception. "He's not out front. You two should check out back - we'll meet you there."

Moriyama nodded his head lightly. "Got it," he responded before hanging up. He turned to say something to Kasamatsu, but found that the captain had already turned and was trotting toward the back doors, his whole body clearly tightly coiled. Moriyama had no doubt that the other third-year would be ready for a fight if they found that Haizaki actually _had_ pulled a stupid stunt, like they expected.

Moriyama wasn't sure that _he_ wouldn't be ready to fight as well.

By the time he reached the back door, he could hear Kasamatsu's enraged voice screaming at someone not far off. He wondered if that was a good or bad sign.

"How _dare_ you lay a hand on him?! What gives you that right? I'm the only one who gets to hit him!" the captain was snarling, and from what Moriyama could see, he was standing in front of someone several inches taller than he was.

Jogging over to the confrontation, Moriyama was unsurprised to see that the person on the receiving end of Kasamatsu's fury was Haizaki. The first-year was backed up against a tree, clearly surprised at how terrifying the steel-blue eyed young man could be. It didn't look like Kasamatsu had hit him, which was good, because Moriyama didn't look forward to any lawsuits that might have popped up against Kaijo if he had.

Kaijo's captain jabbed a finger into the other black-haired teen's face. "Don't you move from this spot, Haizaki. I'll be back; we are not done with this conversation." And with that, Kasamatsu turned and headed toward another tree, where Moriyama noticed that Kise was sitting. The blond had one hand pressed to the right side of his face, and the left cradled his stomach.

Moriyama didn't quite trust that Haizaki would do as he was ordered, but when the silver-eyed boy didn't move, he figured that Kasamatsu had put just enough divine fear into him to keep his feet rooted to the spot. He quickly headed over after Kasamatsu to check on their first-year.

"Kise," he heard Kasamatsu murmur gently once he reached the two. The captain was kneeling beside the slumped form, his hand resting lightly on the boy's shoulder. "Ryota. Where did he hurt you?"

That was the first time Moriyama had ever heard Kasamatsu use Kise's first name, and he had to admit that it was surprising how quickly the black-haired young man had gone from furious to parental and concerned in a heartbeat.

It seemed to surprise Kise, too, for the model turned his face up to look at the captain, his golden eyes wide and watery. There were tears streaming down his cheeks, and his lip was bleeding. Moriyama saw Kasamatsu's gaze soften further as he gingerly pried Kise's hand from his face so that they could assess the damage underneath.

The bruise stood out starkly from the first-year's pale skin, and his right eye was swelling up a bit. He'd no doubt been punched, hard, and Moriyama could only guess that his stomach was in similar condition.

"I will freaking have you put in jail!" Kasamatsu snapped over his shoulder, and Haizaki visibly flinched.

Moriyama got to his feet and put a hand on top of Kise's golden head. "We'll take care of this, Kise. Don't worry," he assured the poor, shaking first-year, and headed over to face Haizaki. He had to put his hands in his pockets to keep from punching the younger boy on the spot. "I..." he began, then shut his mouth sharply. He was so angry that he couldn't figure out how to put it into words. "Man, all I want to do is hit you. I've never been this furious at anyone in my entire life. Sabotaging him on the court was bad enough..."

"Moriyama." Kobori's voice sounded behind him, and he turned to see that the tall center and Hayakawa were running over to him. "We just heard. We'll take him to his coach and let them deal with him, okay?"

Moriyama almost argued - almost. But he decided that the other third-year was probably right, and nodded slowly. "That's for the best. I'll probably beat him myself if I have to stare at him for much longer."

"The feeling's mutual." Kobori's face darkened as he reached over and grabbed the back of Haizaki's jacket. Hayakawa, silent and sullen for once in his life, followed the brunet quickly and aided in ushering Haizaki back toward the gym.

Inhaling deeply to calm himself down, Moriyama returned to Kasamatsu and Kise. The two were still on the ground beside the tree - they'd only moved enough for Kasamatsu to get a good angle to dab the blood off of Kise's mouth with a handkerchief that he'd fished out of his pocket. Kise was still crying a bit, but Moriyama didn't blame him. Instead, he crouched beside the two and offered the first-year a smile.

"I'm proud of you." Kise looked surprised, his eyes flying open, and Moriyama continued, "You and Haizaki were in Teiko's basketball club at the same time, right? But you are so much better than he is. You-"

"I'm not," Kise whispered shakily, more tears pooling in his eyes as he looked away. His face crinkled up in sorrow. "I'm... I can't..." he whimpered, reaching up to cover his face again.

Moriyama and Kasamatsu shared a look of concern, and then turned their attention back to the sobbing first-year. "Kise..." Kasamatsu said slowly, his steely eyes softer than Moriyama had ever seen them before. "What makes you think you're a bad person?"

Kise sniffled, hiccupped, and wiped at his eyes as he replied, "You don't know what I've done to people... what I've said to people... when I was in Teiko- ow!" he yelped as Kasamatsu flicked his forehead to get him to shut up. "What did you do that for, senpai?" he whined, his lower lip stuck out and tears still streaming down his bruised cheeks.

"Don't argue with your seniors, idiot. I don't care _what_ you did in Teiko." Kasamatsu turned his back to him. "I know you're a good person _now_ , Kise. I've seen it. You won't be able to convince me otherwise." He bent his knees a bit and stretched his arms out. "Now get on my back. I'm not going to let you walk in there."

The model blinked a few times, and Moriyama grinned as a bright smile etched itself onto Kise's face. The blond boy got to his feet and bounced onto his captain's back - using his uninjured foot, thankfully, - and Kasamatsu's hands found purchase on Kise's legs to support his weight.

"Thank you!" he chirped gleefully, resting his chin on Kasamatsu's shoulder. All his melancholy seemed to melt away with his captain's simple praise. "I love you, senpai!"

Kasamatsu rolled his eyes, but Moriyama saw his lips quirk up in a sort of smile of his own. "Yeah, whatever, idiot. And be careful with your foot!" he snapped, as if to cover up how soft he'd been.

Kise laughed, wrapping his arms loosely around his captain's neck, before looking at Moriyama. "I love you, too, Moriyama-senpai," he added, his golden eyes bright and happy, if not a little wet still.

"We all love you, Kise," Moriyama replied, reaching over to ruffle the first-year's blond hair. "I wish we could've prevented Haizaki from hurting you, though. I'm sorry we didn't see what was going on beforehand," he apologized softly, and Kise shook his head.

"It turned out okay. If Shogo-kun hadn't done what he did, then Kasamatsu-senpai wouldn't have been so nice to me!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kasamatsu sputtered, his eyebrow arched dubiously. "Don't make me drop you!"

"Senpai! You wouldn't drop a crippled person, would you?"

"You're not crippled! You're just a lazy crybaby!"

"I thought you said I was a good person, senpai!"

"I changed my mind."

"You're so mean!" Kise cried, crocodile tears pouring down his face.

Moriyama couldn't help but smile.

* * *

 **It's finished c: I hope this was a good chapter.**

 **If you liked it, leave a review/fave/follow/pm, et cetera, et cetera. c:**

 **Feel free to suggest chapters! I still can't promise that I'll take them, though.**

 **Also, if you like, you can check out my other KnB fics! I have a few more, apart from this, of varying genres and characters. Mostly KiKasa broshipping though.**

 **God bless you all, and have a wonderful day!**

 **anim8or**


	3. 3) Happy Birthday

**Title:** Happy Birthday

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

 **Word Count:** 1,901

 **Date(s):** June 18th/19th

 **Summary:** Kasamatsu has forgotten Kise's birthday. Will he be able to make up for this mistake?

* * *

Kasamatsu knew from the beginning of that day, June 18th, that there was something wrong with Kaijo's ace. The normally-happy, peppy, doglike boy was down in the dumps. That much was evident.

But did Kasamatsu care about him enough to ask?

No. Never.

So, he proceeded to go through the day as he'd originally planned, ignoring the melancholy Kise as much as humanly possible.

But he had the nagging suspicion that he was forgetting something. Something important.

Still, he thought little to nothing of it, and before he knew it, he was heading home for the day.

The next day was much the same. Kise was pouting around, his eyes downcast and a perpetual frown on his face. Kasamatsu decided that he'd had enough and, for whatever reason, would rather have the bright and sunny Kise back. So, he went to Kobori to ask what was wrong, since the vice captain paid far more attention to all his teammates than Kasamatsu did.

"Kise's upset because you forgot about his birthday yesterday," the brunet explained as he shot a basketball at the net. The two of them were the last in the gym, since everyone else had finished up and headed home already.

Kasamatsu blinked in surprise. "Seriously? That's been bothering him for two days straight?!"

"Obviously."

With a sigh, Kasamatsu steeled himself and decided to fix it. But not because he felt guilty or, like, he cared about Kise or anything like that. No. He was only doing it because it was the right thing to do.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

Yesterday had been the worst birthday ever. Kise was sure of it. He'd tried to tell himself over and over again that his senpai really did care about him, and that he was probably just too busy to remember his underclassman's birthday and it was nothing personal. But no matter how many times he repeated that same mantra in his mind, his heart still hurt. He couldn't believe that Kasamatsu had actually _forgotten,_ especially when the rest of the team had remembered.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Kise didn't value Kasamatsu's opinion of him so much. He'd really been trying to impress his senpai as of late. And Kasamatsu had said after his last game that he'd been improving quite a bit.

He'd begun to think that his captain actually liked him.

Now he wasn't so sure.

Kise flopped down facefirst onto his bed - he was the only one in the house, as his mother was working, his father was away on business, and both his big sisters had photoshoots all week in another country. He let out a groan and rolled onto his back, staring at the stark white ceiling above his head, and then tossed his forearm over his eyes. Maybe a nap would help him feel better.

He woke about an hour later to the sound of someone knocking on the door. The blond let out a yawn, groggily got to his feet, and staggered down the stairs.

He knew who was at the door without even looking through the peephole. The impatient yelling was enough of a clue.

"I know you're home, idiot! Open the door! I've been knocking for five minutes!"

With a sigh, Kise opened the door just a crack and narrowed his visible golden eye at his captain. "I was taking a nap, senpai. Is this really important?"

"Yes. Now, if you'll let me in, I-"

"I don't want you to come in," Kise interrupted, and made a move to shut the door. "I want to be alone."

A foot came up and planted itself against the wooden door, successfully keeping Kise from shutting it completely. "What's with you?!" Kasamatsu snapped, his steely eyes narrowed as he glared furiously at his junior. "I know I hurt your feelings, Kise, but honestly? I'm trying to make things-"

Kise cut him off again, "You hate me! I know you do. You've hated me since I first joined the team!" The blond pressed against his side of the door to prevent his senpai from opening it. "You hurt my feelings every day!"

"I-" Kasamatsu broke off, shook his head, and then continued in a slightly-softer tone of voice, "I don't hate you, Kise. You get on my nerves a lot, but I've never hated you. Would I be going through all this trouble to fix things if I hated you?"

"Kobori-senpai probably told you to come talk to me."

Kasamatsu twitched. "Just open the door, Kise, so we can get this over with."

"No."

"Kise, open this door right this second or I will break it down! You have to listen to me - I'm your captain!" snarled Kasamatsu. Kise could tell the raven-haired young man was at his limit.

Kise felt the pressure on the other end of the door increase, and pushed back to keep his senpai out of his house. "We're not at school! You can't tell me what to do!"

" _Try_ me!" It was at that moment that Kasamatsu shoved the door hard enough to open it about an eighth of the way, somehow squeezed his lithe body in through the crack that he'd made, and got his foot caught in the rug. Kise made a move to catch his senpai, but ended up crashing down into the hall with him. The two tumbled over one another and ended up with Kise piled on top of Kasamatsu in a tangle of long limbs, a guitar case, a crushed box wrapped in shiny blue paper, and vanilla icing.

After a few moments of laying there in a daze, Kasamatsu regained his senses. He shoved Kise off of him and sat up, rubbing his temple. "Great, Kise. Look what you did."

"Me?! You're the one who insisted on breaking into my house!" Kise snapped, sitting up and wiping some of the smooshed cake off of his face. He stuck his icing-coated finger into his mouth and blinked a few times in surprise. "Wow, that's delicious!"

"It was for you, moron," Kasamatsu muttered, getting to his feet and picking up his guitar case. "You should've just opened the freaking door when I asked."

"Excuse me for being mad at you!" Kise grumbled in return, leaning against the wall instead of getting to his feet. "I could call the police right now and it would be justified."

Kasamatsu chuckled darkly and opened the guitar case, probably to check on his precious instrument. "I could do way worse to you than anything the police could do to me."

Kise didn't doubt it. But before he could reply, Kasamatsu spoke again, "Now, before I do this, I want you to know that I'm not a professional guitarist or anything. I just do it in my spare time, for myself. So if this sucks, don't laugh."

Then, his senpai pulled the guitar out of the case and proceeded to play a sort of rendition of "happy birthday," but without words and twists on some of the notes. Not to mention that the guitar was a bit out of tune and chipped in some places - it looked to be quite old.

When he finished, Kasamatsu sat the guitar back into the case and pointed at the cakey mess on the floor. "The cake was for you, too, but it looks like you won't be eating any of that. But the present should be all right," he said, picking up the squished blue box and tossing it over to Kise.

The blond caught the gift and slowly peeled the wrapping paper off. Inside lay a pair of new, long white socks, the same brand that Kasamatsu wore, along with a folded piece of paper. The captain gestured at the paper, his face tinted slightly red. "Please wait till after I leave to read that, okay? I'd really appreciate it."

Kise blinked a few times, feeling his eyes start to burn a bit. Just a few seconds later, hot tears began to roll down his cheeks, and he sniffled and made an attempt at wiping them away.

It didn't take long for Kise to feel a warm hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to meet his captain's steely eyes. "I felt bad about forgetting your birthday, Kise," Kasamatsu said seriously, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I'm sorry."

Kise rubbed his eyes and snuffled a few more times before lunging forward and hugging the black-haired boy. He felt Kasamatsu stiffen underneath him, but gradually the other young man relaxed and wrapped Kise in a hug as well. However, Kasamatsu was not accustomed to such physical contact, and quickly grew uncomfortable again, and pushed Kise lightly away.

"I'm sorry I didn't open the door and messed up the cake," the blond apologized in return, looking ruefully down at the mess in the floor. "It would've been delicious."

Kasamatsu glanced down at the cake as well and sighed. "I shouldn't have expected things to go smoothly anyway. Here, I'll help you clean it up before I leave."

"Aw, senpai, can't you stay a little while?" Kise whined, bouncing forward so that he could cling to his senpai's arm. "We can make another cake and eat dinner and stuff!"

"No, I really need to get home. My little brothers are going to be getting back from a week-long basketball camp tonight, and they'll want to see me," Kasamatsu explained with a smile, then promptly shoved Kise off his arm. "Now let's clean up so I can leave."

* * *

Kasamatsu was true to his word, and left almost as soon as they cleaned up the cake. But Kise couldn't find it in him to be disappointed - after all, he hadn't forgotten about the note Kasamatsu had written. The moment Kasamatsu shut the door, Kise leapt for the note and dashed upstairs to open it.

It read:

 _Kise Ryota,_

 _I used to hate you. Or at least, I thought I did. You were an arrogant, boastful, annoying little brat that did nothing but get on my nerves. But, after some insight from Kobori, I saw how hard you were trying. You've matured a lot in these past few months, and you work harder than any first-year I've ever seen. You've proven to me that you are important, even if you're annoying. Not to mention the fact that you're a great basketball player already. I see a potential in you that your other Teiko buddies are missing, apart from maybe that one with the really light blue hair. The thing is, you have a good heart, Kise, and I'm very proud to be your captain. I hope your birthday was good even though I forgot._

 _\- Kasamatsu Yukio_

The next morning before school, Kise affectionately tackled Kasamatsu to the ground in front of everyone and showered him in nuzzles, cheering about how much he loved his senpai. And for once, though he acted otherwise, the captain didn't mind. Because happy, shiny Kise was better than sad, downtrodden Kise anyday.

* * *

 **A very late installment in honor of Kise's birthday - yes, I realize I'm 11 days late. Yes, I'm sorry. T.T**

 **Okay, so I'm still doing that request thing, but I think I'll give you a few options for chapters that I already have planned. Would you rather see...**

 **1) The first time Kasamatsu meets Akashi?**

 **2) A summer-themed chapter? (suggested by charmingchrissy1, although I had something planned for it anyway. c: )**

 **3) A chapter involving bullying?**

 **4) A chapter meant entirely to embarrass Kasamatsu?**

 **5) A sick/injury chapter?**

 **Just tell me which one(s) you'd want to see the most. c:**

 **Please continue reading and reviewing c: The support's incredibly appreciated.**

 **God bless you all. I hope you have the best day ever!**

 **anim8or**


	4. 4) Akashi

**Title:** Akashi

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** I don't even know

 **Word Count:** 2,941

 **Time Period:** Sometime during the Winter Cup? Or around then, anyway.

 **Summary:** Kasamatsu finally gets his chance to meet the great Akashi Seijuro.

* * *

Kasamatsu been looking _very_ forward to this day. Kise had told him story after story about this boy, and had vanished many times from practice, dinners, lunches, even classes, just because he'd been 'summoned.' It was infuriating, to say the least, to have a first-year student - from another school, at that! - have so much control over his underclassman.

It made Kasamatsu tense at the very thought of someone else telling his teammates what to do. Not to mention that it was a first-year _brat._ Someone Kise's age, or younger.

Now, he finally had the chance to expose Akashi Seijuro for what he was. An uppity first-year with a god complex and too much ego. Kind of like how Kise had been when he'd first joined Kaijo, but worse, since Teiko had apparently been filled with egomaniacs like the blond... and Akashi had been the king of them all.

Kasamatsu wanted to kick him, but unfortunately he'd been told by several people that he wasn't allowed to kick perfect strangers. Heck, he hadn't even kicked Kise until he'd been part of Kaijo's team for at least a day or two.

Regardless, he was looking forward to getting a chance to have a heart-to-heart with the kid. Put him in his place, just like he'd done with Kise. Show him that he was no longer Kise's boss, and he couldn't keep telling him what to do and where to go.

So, when Kise got a text message during practice that day and announced that Akashi wanted him to go meet up with the others at the park, Kasamatsu finally stepped up.

"I'm going with you."

Kise's face paled drastically at Kasamatsu's statement, and he shook his head quickly. "I don't think that's a good idea, senpai..."

"It doesn't matter what you think, because I'm going with you anyway." Kasamatsu made sure his tone left no room for argument, and grabbed a towel to dry his face and arms with. From what he understood, Akashi hated being kept waiting, and so there would be no time for showers or changing.

His suspicions proved to be true, as Kise meekly grabbed his bag and headed out the door, not even bothering wiping his sweat away. Kasamatsu followed him quickly, and had to jog to keep up with his ace's fast pace.

They didn't speak on the way to the park - Kise kept a sullen expression, and wouldn't even meet his senpai's eyes. Kasamatsu had to admit that it was a little... disconcerting. Although, he wouldn't dare go back on his word. It was important to show these children who was boss.

He did wish he'd grabbed his coat, though. He was freezing his butt off!

By the time they reached the park, both he and Kise were shivering from the cold winter air. Kasamatsu, eager to get the encounter over with, almost didn't notice when Kise stopped outside the park gates. That is, until his junior called for him.

"Senpai, you really don't have to do this. Akashicchi will be mad if he sees I brought someone. Last time, when Kagamicchi followed Kurokocchi to our meeting, Akashicchi nearly stabbed Kagamicchi in the face with scissors," Kise explained, shifting his weight from foot to foot, as though he was nervous. Kasamatsu, however, thought it was amusing.

"You don't have to worry for me, Kise. I'll be fine. I'm not scared of some first-year brat," he assured, and the blond bit his bottom lip lightly. Still, to his credit, he said nothing more in argument, and instead trotted along after his captain.

Kasamatsu wasn't sure exactly what he'd been expecting as they approached the meeting spot, but it wasn't quite what he walked up to.

"Mido-chin," whined a purple-headed giant - someone Kasamatsu recognized from the Yosen team. He was bigger in person, and he was currently leaned over Midori-whatshisface from Shutoku, who had an unopened box of strawberry pockies in his hands. "You need to share your snacks."

The bespectacled youth tilted his nose up and turned his head to the side self-righteously. "I can't give you any, Murasakibara. Oha Asa said that Cancer's lucky item for the day was a box of pockies, and I cannot deny fate."

The tall boy's gaze hardened at that, and he put one massive hand on the top of the other's head. "I'll crush you, Mido-chin."

"Oi, let's not crush anyone today." The lazy voice came from someone Kasamatsu could recognize considerably better than the others. Aomine was splayed out on the wooden park bench next to "Mido-chin," his legs hanging off the end and one arm slung across his eyes. He looked impossibly comfortable. "Akashi wouldn't be happy to get here and find one of us crushed."

"That's true," agreed Kuroko, whom Kasamatsu just noticed was there. He was standing at the end of the bench, at Aomine's feet. "But I don't think he'll be happy to find an extra person here, either. No offense, Kasamatsu-san."

At his statement, the other three Miracles turned their heads and saw that Kasamatsu and Kise had arrived. After a few moments of uncomfortable, pressing silence, Kasamatsu shrugged one shoulder, scratched at the back of his neck, and glanced away. "None taken, I guess."

"Kise, you know how Akashi feels about bringing outsiders to our meetings," the Shutoku guy - who Kasamatsu thought looked an awful lot like a carrot, with that thick head of green hair and orange tracksuit - said condescendingly, meeting Kasamatsu's gaze with his own green orbs. _Overconfident first-year brat..._

Kise shook his head and stepped forward with a forced, sunshine-y smile. "It's not that big a deal, right? I mean, senpai's not gonna do anything. He'll probably leave before Akashi even gets here..."

"No, I'm staying." Kasamatsu crossed his arms over his chest and glanced from Miracle to Miracle. Not one of them looked completely unsurprised, and Kise looked terrified. "I'm sick and tired of this first-year kid thinking he has Kise at his beck and call, and I'm sure all of your captains and senpai feel the same way I do."

The voice that sounded behind him caught Kasamatsu quite a bit off-guard. "Shintaro. Tetsuya. Daiki. Atsushi. Ryota. Thank you for coming."

Akashi Seijuro stepped around Kasamatsu without even glancing at the Kaijo captain, and instead faced the other five members of the Generation of Miracles with a cool, calm expression. "Now, before we begin, I want you all to know that I want to keep this meeting brief. It's cold and I'm sure you have practice to get to. So, I'd like to start with-"

"Are you going to pretend I'm not even here?" Kasamatsu interjected, narrowing his steel blue eyes at the first-year, eliciting a collective gasp from the other young basketball players. Well, apart from the giant purple one, and Kuroko, the latter's eyes having widened owlishly.

The heterochromatic boy turned his head slowly to meet Kasamatsu's gaze chillingly, his eyebrows just slightly angled down. "Who have you brought as our guest, Ryota?"

Before Kise could reply, Kasamatsu stepped forward. "I don't need my junior to speak for me. My name is Kasamatsu Yukio." He held out his hand for Akashi to shake, and the pink-haired young man just scoffed, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"You're far too overconfident for your own good, aren't you?" Akashi asked slowly, took one stride toward Kasamatsu, and narrowed his eyes into multicolored chips. "It looks to me like you need to be reminded of your place. Lower your head."

* * *

Kise had seen a lot in these past couple years of playing basketball, first at Teiko and then at Kaijo, but he was completely unprepared for what happened next. Because, just as Akashi reached forward to touch Kasamatsu's shoulder and sit him down on the ground, the raven-haired young man sidestepped and twisted, and in a flash was standing behind Rakuzan's captain, his steel blue eyes blazing with fury. Then, Kasamatsu reached his hand out and lightly swatted the back of Akashi's head - not in a way that would hurt, but it was an impressive show of his speed and physical prowess.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect those older than you?" Kasamatsu asked calmly, his expression utterly neutral apart from his stern eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "Maybe it's _you_ who needs to be reminded of _your_ place. I taught Kise, and I can teach you, too."

The silence that followed was stifling. Akashi stiffened, but nobody else moved. Nobody spoke. The only thing that made any noise at all was the sound of Kise's heart pounding relentlessly in his ears. He'd never been happier that Midorima's lucky item of the day hadn't been a pair of scissors.

Poor Kagamicchi.

Still, he knew that Akashi was running dozens of different scenarios in his head. Each and every one of which ended in Kasamatsu's death.

What ended up breaking the chilling silence was Murasakibara's stomach growling, followed by a complaint, "Aka-chin, I'm hungry. If you don't wanna kill this guy, I can crush him for you."

"No!" The word was out of Kise's mouth before he knew he'd even thought of speaking, and his body followed his loose tongue's example by running over to get in between Akashi and Kasamatsu. "Don't hurt him, please!"

"Ryota." Akashi's voice was terrifyingly calm. He still hadn't turned around. "Move. Immediately."

If it had been any other person he'd been defending, Kise probably would've obeyed. But Kasamatsu was... different. Kasamatsu had been there for him every single time he's needed him throughout the past school year, without fail. Kasamatsu had been his shoulder to cry on, his guardian, his teacher. Kasamatsu had wrapped up his ankle when it started hurting after the Touou match. Kasamatsu had reassured him when he'd failed. And when he'd been at his darkest place, when he'd been so full of himself, so emotionless, so horrible, Kasamatsu had taught him what he should be, and without him, Kise would still be at that place.

Perhaps it was one, or all of those reasons combined, that sparked Kise's response. "No, Akashi. I won't."

He'd expected his voice to shake. He'd expected Akashi to turn around and stab him with some hidden weapon. He'd expected the earth to crumble, lightning to spontaneously come down and strike him dead.

He'd expected anything other than what had actually happened.

"I see." Akashi took a deep breath and relaxed, then turned to face them. He looked past Kise, meeting Kasamatsu's eyes directly. It was impossible to read his expression. "You said earlier that you 'taught' Kise. What did you mean by that?"

Kasamatsu's voice didn't waver as he responded, "I meant what I said. When Kise came to Kaijo, he was a lot like you. Cocky, annoying, entitled, selfish. I, along the other members of our basketball team, helped him see past that. He's an entirely different person now - a better person."

Akashi inclined his head, just a bit, but didn't look away from the black-haired point guard. "I can see that you've changed him, although I can't agree with you. He is _not_ better." His gaze swept over Kise, almost as if he was sizing him up, or analyzing him. "You've simply changed his views. Corrupted him, as it were. That does not always lead to improvement. Such as with this case." His tone was one of supremacy, of self-righteousness.

"I feel sorry for you," Kasamatsu responded gently, a slight bit of concern taking over his expression as he spoke. "You haven't ever had anyone teach you right."

Akashi's eyes flashed, betraying just a bit of the anger he must have been feeling. "I am _always_ right. Always. I have never been wrong."

Kasamatsu took a deep breath and closed his own eyes, then offered the first-year captain a smile. "Someone will teach you differently, someday." And with that, he tapped Kise's shoulder softly. "It's time to go, Kise. Come on."

Kise couldn't help but hesitate. He glanced up at his senpai as the blue-eyed young man walked off, clearly expecting him to follow, and then he looked back to Akashi. The heterochromatic boy's gaze was challenging, an unspoken command of " _stay."_

His loyalty was being tested, by both his current captain, and his former.

Honestly, Kise didn't know which one was scarier. Akashi and Kasamatsu were both intimidating. Crazy, even. They should both probably be locked up in padded cells... or jail cells, depending on how one looked at it. Kasamatsu hit Kise, along with a few others, on a daily basis. His rants could last for hours, until he was hoarse, and he always wore those stupid black socks. His OCD was legendary. His patience... nonexistent.

Akashi, on the other hand, wasn't very physically violent. Still, he was practically insane. Kise hadn't ever seen a person as scary as him. He was cold, unfeeling, and put victory above everything else. Not to mention that he'd tried to stab someone in the face with a pair of scissors.

The biggest difference between the two had to be the way they viewed their teammates. While Akashi only saw them as instruments or tools to use to get ahead in the game, Kasamatsu saw them as individuals. Saw _Kise_ as an individual. Not a part of the Generation of Miracles. Not a model. Not a legendary player.

To Kasamatsu, Kise was just... _Kise._

There was no question who his loyalty belonged to.

Kise decided that he didn't need to apologize to anyone around him, and just followed his senpai without another word. He didn't even look back.

When he caught up to Kasamatsu, his decision was proven right. For as he fell into step beside his captain, the third-year reached out and lightly ruffled his golden tresses, his hand lingering in them a bit longer than what was absolutely necessary. Kise was grateful for the reassurance.

"You _are_ good, Kise. Don't think twice about what that guy said about you."

Kasamatsu sounded so sure, so unwaveringly confident in his statement, that it almost made Kise believe him.

"He needs senpai like you," Kise responded quietly, brushing his shoulder just slightly against his captain's. They were both cold.

Kasamatsu nodded slowly. "I've been thinking that, instead of putting Akashi in his place, I need to go to Rakuzan and have a chat with his upperclassmen. Perhaps it's them who need to be taught that they can't let a first-year boss them around." One of his eyebrows was arched in thought.

Kise laughed a bit and shook his head. Neither he or Kasamatsu spoke for a while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence like before. Finally, Kise decided on what to say. "I'm glad I chose Kaijo. You've helped me so much. You, and Kobori-senpai, and Nakamura-san, and Hayakawa-san, and Moriyama-senpai. I ended up right where I needed to be."

Kasamatsu cracked a ghost of a smile, and nudged Kise affectionately. "I'm glad you chose us, too. There isn't a single one of them that I'd rather have on my team than you."

* * *

That night, Kise settled into bed with his phone and was met with some very encouraging texts from his teammates.

Kobori had sent,

"We love you, Kise. I'm so very proud of you. Call me if you ever need anything. But you knew all that already, didn't you?"

Nakamura had sent,

"You're the best, Kise."

Hayakawa had sent something, too, but it was just a jumble of CAPS lock and random numbers, faces and symbols. Kise could make out the words, "proud," "love," "Kise," and "awesome," written several times in the wall of text, though, so he believed he got the gist of it.

Moriyama had sent,

"I just wanted to tell you that Kasamatsu bragged about you to me for two hours straight on the phone this afternoon. I'm proud of you, kiddo. You're so different than last year, and you never cease to impress me."

Even coach had sent him a voice message. Kise opened it, and smiled as he heard his coach's voice,

"Kise Ryota, I'll have you know that everyone on the team thinks highly of you, including myself. Yukio went on and on about you earlier. I've never heard him sound this proud about anyone. You're special, kid, and not only to him."

There was nothing from Kasamatsu himself, but Kise hadn't expected it. He didn't need it.

The last unopened text was from Aomine, and that was surprising. Wiping away the emotional tears in his eyes, Kise opened it as well.

It read,

"Your senpai is scary...  
But awesome."

Kise had to agree with him on that one.

His senpai was the best.

* * *

 **This chapter was so much fun to write. It was also a monster. I believe I like it, but please forgive me if there are any repetitive words, phrases, or errors in the grammar. I wanted to get this done by tonight, and I had to work fast in order to do so.**

 **Please, continue to read and review! c: I know I don't reply to the reviews, but I do read them, and they are so encouraging.**

 **Please refer to the options in the previous chapter, and let me know what you'd like to see next! Feel free to share your own ideas as well. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, too! c:**

 **[edit: I accidentally said Nijimura instead of Nakamura T.T Why must names be so similar. Thank you to forever-tsundere for pointing that out!]**

 **Good night, God bless you, and have a wonderful day!**

 **anim8or**


	5. 5) Off-Limits

**Title:** Off-Limits

 **Rating:** T

 **Genre:** Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship

 **Word Count:** 2,528

 **Time Period:** Mid-Autumn

 **Summary:** Sometimes, even the ones who seem the strongest, can have moments of weakness.

 **Warnings:** There's some mild violence, OOCness and bullying involved, and if you suffer from panic attacks, this could be triggering. Be careful.

* * *

Kise had been having the best day ever.

Or, in his opinion, it had been the best.

And, in this case, "the best" translated into Kasamatsu replying to his "GOOD MORNING, SENPAI!" text with an actual "good morning, Kise," instead of just ignoring it, and then finding a five yen coin on the ground on the way to school, and then getting a good - by his standards, at least - score on his history test.

See? The best day ever.

But that changed extremely fast.

Kise had been heading to his locker before practice to go get his uniform, and as usual had to pass his captain's locker on the way. It wasn't an unordinary thing to see Kasamatsu at his locker just after school ended, but he usually didn't have people hanging around with him. That was enough to pique Kise's interest.

So, like any normal, concerned friend, he decided to practice his spying abilities.

Kise slipped behind the corner and peered around it, and was just able to see two older guys - third years, like Kasamatsu, but Kise didn't know them by name - on either side of the raven-haired point-guard.

The first thing that struck Kise as odd was Kasamatsu's drawn-up shoulders. The second was the set of his jaws and brow - it was easy to see how distressed he was, and Kise felt himself tense up just looking. Still, Kasamatsu was a very high-strung person anyway. If those guys hadn't been there, Kise would've just thought that his captain was simply overthinking things again.

Unfortunately, he found that that was not the case.

Because then, the guys started talking.

"How are you today, _Captain_?" sneered the taller one, who leaned over Kasamatsu as casually as Moriyama might have. But there was something different in their stances - while Moriyama would've just been relaxing, this guy had a purpose. It was like he was just showing Kasamatsu how much larger and more intimidating he was. Not to mention the fact that Kasamatsu's head had lowered when the guy's elbow shut his locker, nearly clipping the captain's fingers in the process.

Kise automatically hated this guy.

Then the second moved in on Kasamatsu's other side, nudging the black-haired young man roughly with his hip. "Make any good passes lately?" he asked conversationally, although his eyes were narrowed. Kise doubted that this was any sort of friendly chat.

His suspicion was deemed correct when Kasamatsu stepped back away from them. Because, while Kasamatsu's movements were usually smooth and fluid, this one had been quick, urgent, and he had nearly stumbled. His face was pale and strained. "Please... I just..." he said softly, his voice quiet and... defeated? "I can't do this today, guys. Just leave me alone."

The reaction from the two other boys was instantaneous. The bigger of the two - the one who'd leaned over Kasamatsu at the beginning - gripped the captain's wrist and yanked him back toward the lockers, slamming his back against the metal hard enough to make Kasamatsu cringe. Kise's feet were rooted to the spot in shock and horror. He grabbed his phone and started typing in a message - fast.

The tall one gripped a handful of Kasamatsu's hair to keep his head from lowering, and forced him to meet his gaze. "You don't have that freaking right, do you hear me? You'll talk to us whenever we want you to. Get it?" he growled, his face centemeters from Kasamatsu's own.

"Did you forget? It's your fault we quit the basketball team. You owe us this much." That was the shorter one, who'd approached after his friend had gotten ahold of Kasamatsu's hair. The expression on his face changed from contempt to fury in a heartbeat. "You're pathetic!" he shouted, slamming his fist down on the locker beside the captain's head. The sound echoed through the hallways. "What a crybaby! What was Coach thinking when he made you captain?"

 _Crybaby?_

Kasamatsu was _crying?_

That very thought was enough to get Kise springing into action. His fingers fumbled around on his phone's screen, and he hoped that he'd managed to hit the send button. But that didn't matter, for he dropped his phone an instant later and bolted around the corner, his shoes squeaking on the flooring as he skidded to a halt beside the other boys.

"Get your hands off of him!" he snarled, clenching his trembling hands into fists. He wasn't sure if the shaking was from his terror or his white-hot fury, for both emotions were raging around inside of him.

The bullies looked over at him, and Kise saw both amusement and mild surprise cross their faces. The tall one spoke first, "You need your underclassmen to protect you now, Kasamatsu?" His voice was filled with such scorn and disgust that it made Kise's blood boil.

The captain didn't reply - he wasn't even looking at Kise, but his eyes were shining with unshed tears. A jolt of pride bloomed in Kise's chest - his senpai was absolutely no crybaby.

Kasamatsu was the toughest.

But right now, he needed Kise to stand up for him, and so that was just what Kise was going to do. He took a couple of steps forward and grabbed first the guy who had his hand clenched in Kasamatsu's hair. But he didn't hit him - no. Instead, he just put his hand over the other boy's fist, careful not to hurt his captain in the process, and got directly in the bully's face. "Let him go, right now, or I _will_ make you."

It took a moment, of course, but the other young man slowly released his hold on Kasamatsu, and backed away from them both. He didn't say a single word as he and his companion turned to head down the hallway, toward the back exit. Kise wasn't sure if he'd intimidated them into submission, or if they just didn't think he was worth the effort, but either way, he was grateful.

Slowly, unsurely, Kise turned his attention to his senpai.

Kasamatsu's shoulders were trembling, and his hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Before Kise could think of something encouraging or helpful to say, his captain shook his head sharply and brought one hand up to his obscured face.

"Sorry," was all he said, before he pushed away from the lockers and attempted to sprint off.

Kise wasn't sure how he did it, but he snapped out a hand and somehow managed to catch his senpai by the wrist. However, instead of stopping Kasamatsu, he only succeeded in being tugged along a step or two, before his senpai tripped and the two of them were suddenly hurtling toward the ground.

He'd expected a hard, painful landing, but was pleasantly surprised with the exact opposite. The only part of him that hit the hard, polished floor was his hip, and that wasn't bad. Kasamatsu had clearly twisted on the way down and kept Kise from making direct impact with the ground by curling and putting one arm underneath his underclassman's head and neck. His own skull hadn't connected with the floor, either, because he'd gone down with his shoulder first and tensed his neck in just the right way to keep it from doing so.

"Senpai, that was amazing! How'd you _do_ that? You're like a ninja! You..." Kise's excited outburst was cut short when he felt Kasamatsu's chest begin to rise and fall rapidly, and his arm removed itself from under Kise's head to cover his own eyes.

It looked like he couldn't get a deep breath, and it was scary.

Kise sat up abruptly and reached out to touch Kasamatsu's shoulder. When he got no real response, he decided to continue, and helped his senpai sit up.

Still, his breathing wasn't getting any better, so Kise ruled out the idea that he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him in the fall. That only left one real option as to what it could be, and while it made sense - Kasamatsu was so stressed all the time, and that situation had been so terrifying, - it didn't make it any easier to comprehend.

Kasamatsu was having a panic attack.

Kise wasn't sure exactly what to do. He'd never had any experience with anything like this before - he'd never seen one in real life. So, for a moment or two, he just sat there like a complete moron, fumbling around for word or action that would help the situation.

 _Comfort him, you idiot!_ his mind suddenly screamed, and Kise wasn't sure why that idea hadn't been the first thing he'd tried.

His arms immediately found their way around his senpai, and he pulled him into a hug. One hand started rubbing what he hoped were soothing circles on Kasamatsu's shoulders, and the other arm just tightened its hold around the raven-haired young man's back. His chin rested on his captain's shoulder, and he felt Kasamatsu press his face into the Kise's chest and wrap his arms around the first year as well.

The effect wasn't immediate, but gradually, Kasamatsu began to relax and his breathing returned to normal. He was still shaking, and Kise felt wetness seeping through the front of his shirt from where his senpai was no doubt crying.

Kise didn't blame him.

The two just sat there in the hallway for what felt like years, but in reality could've only been about five minutes. And it was Kasamatsu who pulled away first, of course. The captain slowly wiped the tears off of his own face and took a few more deep breaths to calm himself further. He seemed exhausted.

"Senpai?" Kise murmured gently, unsure of what to do once again. "Are you okay?"

"Those guys were on the basketball team here," came the hoarse, tired reply. He sniffled just a bit before continuing, "They blamed me for losing to Touou at the Interhigh, and quit after I was made captain."

Kise tried to meet Kasamatsu's eyes, but his senpai wouldn't look up from the floor. So, he decided to speak instead. "Does that mean they've been treating you like that since the beginning of this year?"

"It's been going on since last summer, actually." Kasamatsu's voice held absolutely no emotion. It was like he was just stating a fact - like he hadn't been directly affected by anything that had gone on. "I told you. They blamed me... but it was my fault, so I guess they had a right to. I can't understand why I was made captain, after screwing up so badly."

"They didn't have any right!" Kise exclaimed, his eyes widening of their own volition. Kasamatsu flinched, and the blond automatically regretted raising his voice. He chose a softer tone to continue with. "No one has the right to treat another person anything like that, senpai."

Kasamatsu shook his head slowly, still unable to meet Kise's eyes. "You weren't there. You can't understand-"

"I messed up in the Touou match this year," Kise interjected quickly. "Was it my fault?"

That was when Kasamatsu looked up, his eyebrows knitting together in alarm. "No, of course it wasn't. Everyone makes mistakes... oh," he whispered, finally seeing what Kise had meant. "But, Kise, I-"

"No 'but's!" Kise didn't think he'd be able to stand hearing his captain blame himself for one more second. "It's over, gone, in the past. You're the best captain in the world, senpai, so please don't let anyone tell you differently. Especially not those bullies."

When Kasamatsu didn't respond, Kise added, "You should've just kicked 'em. Taught them a lesson."

That got a smirk out of the captain, and he reached out to ruffle Kise's hair lightly. "Maybe next time. Thank you, Kise. You helped me feel a lot better."

Kise couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face. "Really? That's great, senpai! I was so scared when you started breathing like that, and- ow!" he yelped when Kasamatsu hit him with the soft side of his fist. It didn't really hurt, but he figured he might as well let Kasamatsu think it did. Maybe he could manage to draw some pity?

"That didn't hurt, idiot," his senpai teased lightly, a small, tired smile on his face. "I-"

"Kise! Kasamatsu!"

The loud interruption was followed by thundering footsteps and squeaking basketball shoes as Kobori, Hayakawa, Nakamura and Moriyama raced up to the two of them. Each of the upperclassmen were out of breath and pale-faced, and upon their approach, Kise could tell that they were shaking with exhaustion and fear.

"I got your text, Kise, but I wasn't sure which hallway you meant, so we searched the whole school to find you. I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner," Kobori apologized breathlessly, showing his phone to Kise. On the screen were the hastily-typed words:

" _Senpai, help! We're in the hallway and there are bad guys and..._ "

The rest of the message was too jumbled and misspelled to read, since Kise had been in such a hurry to intervene with the bullies, but clearly Kobori had understood that it was important.

"What happened?" Moriyama demanded, reaching them only moments after Kobori did. "I didn't really understand the text, but..." he broke off when he saw how puffy-eyed Kasamatsu was, and his dark eyes hardened. "Who do I need to kill?"

Kasamatsu puffed out a light laugh and shook his head. "No one, Moriyama. Everything's fine now, honestly."

"But, Kasamatsu-"

And they all remained in that hallway for hours, discussing the incident. Kasamatsu pacified Moriyama by giving him ideas on what to do to the bullies, but Kise noticed that he wouldn't mention their names, no matter how hard they pressed. He didn't blame his senpai for that - he wouldn't have wanted to tell anyone too much about it, either, and definitely wouldn't betray him by sharing more than the raven-haired young man wanted, no matter how much he was bribed... or threatened.

Eventually, they all decided that they should stop pestering Kasamatsu and instead headed home for the night - they'd missed practice that day, which was bound to upset the coach, but Kobori had promised to explain what had happened. Coach would understand.

By the next day, Kasamatsu was back to his usual self. And when those two bullies approached Kise after school at his locker, Kasamatsu took them both outside and made sure - with colorful language and imaginative threats - that they knew the blond was off-limits.

* * *

 **I loved writing this for some reason. I don't even know why. It just had a lot of emotion for me, I guess. I have panic attacks, from time to time, but they're not random or anything. It's just, sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed and so anxious and afraid that I don't even know what to do. I'll realize I'm breathing heavy and stop it, though, so I don't know if they're actual panic attacks or just a milder version, or what.**

 **I wanted to put a little bit of a story in my AN today/tonight. While I don't consider myself a victim of bullying, this should go to show that everything you say can have an impact.**

 **Two years ago, I fell in love with a guy that I've gone to church with since I was four. We were both sixteen at the time, and didn't tell each other how we felt until we were a month or so from turning seventeen. We never even kissed on the lips, but when his parents found out that we were holding hands (we were seventeen at the time), they told him to stop talking to me. Just like that. I wasn't even involved in the conversation. He just had to stop talking to me, and that was that.** **I was so confused, especially when I couldn't talk to him in person without someone else being around. And, trust me, this one girl, who liked the guy, and her mom were freaking _determined_ that I wouldn't be alone with this guy.  
That girl's mom went to my guy's mom every single week with a story about the "terrible" things we'd been doing. Like, she made stuff up about us sneaking around and doing _things_. I don't even know what exactly she was saying about me, but I knew it was bad. Keep in mind that this is a grown woman. ****During this time, I heard some things that had been said about me. Names I'd been called. I was even compared to a stripper.  
All this by people I'd known since I was a toddler. People who said they loved me. And I hadn't even kissed the guy on the lips. Just the cheek and hand, and forehead.  
** **These things, coupled with my mom going through extreme surgery and rehabilitation and feeling so alone, along with some personal issues that I didn't have anyone to help me with, led to serious, stifling anxiety that I have yet to completely overcome.  
Words are so incredibly powerful, guys, and while this may seem mild to some people, this was the ultimate betrayal for me. I lost so much trust and faith in people, and at times even in my spiritual life, because of it. It changed me as a person, fundamentally, and has caused me so much pain and so many tears.  
**

 **I'm definitely recovering, though, guys, so don't worry. c: I've discovered a stronger part of myself from it.  
The point of it all, though, is that we all need to watch what we say to and about other people, because as human beings, we all deserve respect and love. Life is far too short to go around hating other people. **

**As always, feel free to suggest ideas, share stories, pm me, and review to your heart's content!**

 **God bless you, guys. Have a wonderful day,**

 **anim8or**

 **[p.s. Happy Fourth of July to all of you who live in these grand United States of America with me! Have a great day full of celebration and happiness. Remember those who have fought for our independence.  
And for all of you who don't live here, I hope you still enjoy your day to the fullest! c:]** **  
[p.p.s. I'm going to start replying to reviews from this chapter on!]**


	6. 6) Senpai's Chicken Soup

**Title:** Senpai's Chicken Soup

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

 **Word Count:** 1,883

 **Time Period:** Mid June

 **Summary:** Sick days aren't so bad when you have a senpai like Kasamatsu around.

* * *

Kise had never felt this sick before. His head was spinning and his stomach was tied in knots. He hadn't touched his lunch, and was regretting trying to eat breakfast. He hadn't felt so bad before he left for school, but now that he was here and the eggs and sausage he'd had earlier were trying to settle...

Well, he was just miserable. That was the best word for it.

He was currently sitting in math class, and would be expected to go to practice directly after. But he couldn't focus on the numbers on the page before him, and he was almost positive he had a fever. Still... the Summer Championship was coming up, and he really needed the practice. After all, he did want his team to win - badly.

So, he steeled himself and decided to suck it up. He'd be fine. He'd get through the practice and go home for a weekend of rest and healing.

When class was over and he tried to stand from his desk, however, the world suddenly lurched under his feet. He barely caught himself on his seat, and instantly felt a hand touch his shoulder. After he deemed it safe to open his eyes, Kise looked up into the concerned face of his captain, who had yet to let go of his arm.

"Kise, are you doing all right?" he asked, arching one eyebrow. "You nearly fell, and you look a little pale..."

"Oh!" Kise responded, hoping his voice was as bright and giddy as usual. "My makeup artist suggested this new tinted moisturizer for me the other day. It's a little light on me, though," he lied, wishing he'd actually thought to put on some sort of concealer or foundation to mask his paleness. But no, he'd been too out of it to think about that type of thing, so a lie was his best solution to the problem at hand.

Kasamatsu didn't look convinced, but clearly decided to let the issue slide. "All right. Let's go," he urged, turning to trot briskly out of the classroom and head toward the gym.

Kise took a deep, steadying breath, and got up again. Thankfully, the world decided to stay relatively still, and he followed his captain as quickly as his aching body would allow.

From the second Kise got out onto the gym floor, he could tell he'd made a mistake. Changing into his uniform and putting on his shoes had been a small challenge, but he'd been so unprepared for the loud squeaking of the basketball shoes, the shouts from his teammates, and the bright lights that somehow made his stomach churn and his head throb even more than they already had before.

Still, he knew he had to do it. Finish what you start, right? He was already there anyway, and he didn't want to look weak to his teammates.

So, Kise immediately picked up a basketball and went out to shoot some baskets.

It wasn't that hard at first. His stomach would tremble every time he shot the ball, but it was manageable. The others were off doing their own thing, playing one-on-ones and running laps. No one seemed to care what Kise was doing - even Kasamatsu and Moriyama were too busy to tell him what to do.

He was grateful, because he didn't think he'd be able to handle anything but standing still and shooting basket after rhythmic basket. It almost felt like it was helping, even if his headache made it to where the basket and backboard seemed to be blending into the wall. His muscle memory and copycat style were helping him immensely in that aspect - he didn't really need to see the basket to remember where to shoot from.

However, things went downhill fast.

Someone suddenly plowed into Kise from behind - it felt like a freaking truck - and sent him sprawling onto the ground. Whoever had run into him also fell, landing roughly on the blond's back and slamming their head onto his.

"Kobori!" Kasamatsu's voice was sharp and stern, and Kise heard shoes tapping on the ground as their captain approached. He didn't sound happy. "Be more careful next time! You could've really hurt him."

"You're right. Sorry, Kise." The weight lifted off of Kise's back, but the model found that he still couldn't move. His head was pounding and his ears were ringing. Not to mention his poor stomach was trying to leap out of his mouth. He reached one hand up to clasp it over his lips to hold it back, but he couldn't prevent the whine that escaped him.

"Kise?" his captain's voice came again, closer this time. "What's going - oh," he finished, and Kise felt warm hands on his shoulders as someone lifted him up so his face wasn't pressed into the ground. As soon as he opened his eyes and saw the world moving, he couldn't help it anymore. Planting one hand on the ground to support himself, he retched dryly, his body heaving as his stomach tried to empty itself. "Oh, Kise..." he heard Kasamatsu murmur softly from his right. One of the hands that had lifted him up reached out to rub the center of his back, and from the corner of his eye Kise could make out a pair of soft, steel blue eyes.

He choked again, and this time his poor belly succeeded in expelling everything he'd eaten since last night onto the beautiful, shining linoleum floor of Kaijo's gym. He felt tears gather at the corners of his eyes, and was more than grateful for the hand that was stroking smooth circles between his shoulder blades. However, he was feeling sick and pitiful and hurt, and he couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that began to pour down his cheeks, nor could he prevent the shaky sobs that came along with them. He squeezed his eyes shut and coughed out sob after sob.

"Shh." Was that really Kasamatsu's voice? It sounded like it for sure, but Kise was pretty sure he'd never heard his captain speak so gently. It was such a soothing tone... "Hush... you're alright, Kise. You should've told me sooner so we could've taken care of you. Idiot."

"Senpai," Kise whimpered, and to his surprise felt something wiping his mouth. He opened his eyes again and blinked blearily up into his captain's face. Kasamatsu was on his knees beside the first-year, one hand still rubbing his back while the other cleaned the sickness off of the blond's lips. Kise felt fresh tears gather in his eyes.

"Can I get you anything, Kise?" Moriyama's voice sounded like it was coming from a million miles away.

Kise shook his head, but found instantly that that was a bad mistake, because the world tipped onto its side and lights flashed behind his eyes. And then everything went dark.

* * *

The next thing Kise was consciously aware of was warmth and stability, and a fuzzy blanket pulled up to his chin. He was in an unfamiliar room, with dark blue painted walls and posters of various musicians and basketball players littering the ceiling. The dresser was cleaned immaculately, and there was a guitar case in one corner.

"You feeling okay?" Kise blinked a few times and focused in on Kasamatsu, who was sitting in the floor beside the bed. There was a basin of water beside him, and as Kise tried to open his mouth to respond, his captain reached over to pick up a washrag, dip it in the water and dab at the blond's sweaty face. "We were all really worried about you. I thought Hayakawa was going to have a heart attack," he joked, although Kise noticed that his face looked strained and pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm better," the model whispered when he actually managed to find his voice, and Kasamatsu smiled in reply. "Where are we?"

Kasamatsu repeated the process of wetting the cloth and cleaning his kouhai's face. "My room. When you got sick yesterday, I decided to take you here. Your parents weren't going to be home for the weekend, anyway, and my place was closer," he explained, putting the damp rag on Kise's forehead to cool it down. "My dad's off on a business trip and mom and the boys are at my grandparent's house."

"Yesterday..." Kise moaned, reaching up to rub his eyes. "I've been here since yesterday?"

"Yeah. You had me really worried," Kasamatsu murmured and leaned back in his chair. "I've never seen you sick before, so I didn't know what to expect. You run high fevers, you know. I broke into your phone specifically to call your mom because I was freaking out. You were running a fever of 104.3, Kise. _104.3_!" he emphasized with a groan of exasperation. "I had no idea what to do."

Kise looked up at his captain with a small smile. "Sorry, senpai. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah, well. Just don't do it again, okay?" Kasamatsu growled, his eyes flicking to the side. "I don't want to have to clean up your puke ever again. Got it?"

Kise felt his face flush a bit. "You had to clean it up? I'm sorry," he mumbled in embarrassment. "I really didn't mean to."

Kasamatsu flicked his ear, and Kise whined in response. "I didn't ask you to say sorry, stupid. I told you not to do it again. If you're sick, stay home. Let me know. I'll come by and save you the trouble of making a huge, terrifying scene of throwing up and passing out in front of the entire team."

"You're the best, senpai," the blond replied with a small giggle, and adjusted the cloth on his forehead.

The raven-haired young man rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "Whatever, idiot. Would you rather have chicken soup or hot tea?" he asked as he turned to head out the bedroom door. He hadn't even asked if Kise was hungry - he'd just anticipated it. And the model had to admit... his tummy was rumbling, and not with sickness this time.

"Ooh, I get to have senpai's cooking? Chicken soup!" Kise gushed gleefully, his voice still coming out hoarse and whispery. "I bet senpai makes the best chicken soup in the world! I still feel a little sick, but I bet senpai's soup will make me all better! And even if it doesn't, it'll be made with love, and I..."

Kasamatsu successfully hid his smile as he left the room, drowning out Kise as the blond went on and on about Kasamatsu's supposedly magical, love-filled cooking. The third-year captain wondered if the starstruck blond would even notice the soup was out of a can, and that there was nothing special about it.

As expected, he didn't notice at all.

* * *

 **What's this? An update? Finally? o.o**

 **I ended up deleting the first chapter six because it got no reviews and I decided it sucked. So, here's a little sickfic for you guys. I hope you enjoy it ^.^**

 **Reviews make the world go round.**

 **God bless you! Have a great day,**

 **anim8or  
**


	7. 7) Christmas

**Title:** Christmas

 **Rating:** K+

 **Genre:** Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

 **Word Count:** 2,042

 **Date:** December 24th and 25th

 **Summary:** Kise is alone on Christmas, but with a friend like Kasamatsu around, it doesn't last long.

* * *

December twenty-fourth and -fifth were generally the two days a year that Kise would reserve specifically to spend time with his family. But, since his mother, father, and both of his sisters were too busy to return home for the holidays this year, he was alone.

And it sucked.

School was out until after New Year's, and therefore Kise had been home, by himself, for three whole days. He'd decided not to text his friends from the basketball team, since he didn't want to bother them while they were spending time with their families. Families who were actually present rather than off somewhere in Europe on business, or on the other side of the country for a photo shoot. Neither his mother, father, or his sisters would be home until the twenty-sixth, at least.

Which left Kise to celebrate on his own.

So, instead of sulking like some put-out five-year-old - Kise was _sixteen_ now, thank you very much - he decided to go out and play in the thick snow that had fallen throughout the past few weeks. It was better than sitting around a dark, empty apartment, anyway.

* * *

"Why isn't he answering my calls?" Kasamatsu muttered crossly, checking his phone for the umpteenth time that day. Sure enough, all of his texts and calls remained unreturned, and it was kind of ticking him off. Kise called and texted so often these days that his silence wasn't only annoying - it was worrisome. Especially now that Kasamatsu had read Kise's sister's post about being off for the holidays.

Kasamatsu had added Kise's sisters as friends per Kise's request, and though he regretted it, he couldn't find it in him to delete them off of his social media friends list. He'd blocked one - the youngest - for commenting on one of Kasamatsu's pictures that he was "hot," and thereby causing Kasamatsu a full week of teasing from his teammates. But the older one was fine. She hadn't done anything at all to get on Kasamatsu's nerves, and she didn't post all that often. It was just that he'd seen something she'd posted on Kise's wall earlier that day that was... disconcerting, to say the least.

"Hi, little brother! I'm sorry none of us could make it back for Christmas. I miss you, and I hope you have a great Christmas anyway! Just don't throw any wild parties while you're home alone, okay? Love, your big sister."

The idea of Kise being on his own during Christmas was unsettling, and Kasamatsu had immediately spammed the blond's phone with calls and texts to get him to respond - to no avail, of course.

It was really freaking annoying.

"Why don't you go get your friend and bring him over here to stay the night?" Kasamatsu's mother had suggested sweetly, her brown eyes warm and kind as she checked over her son's shoulder to see what he was doing on his phone. She always knew when something was bothering him.

Kasamatsu raised one eyebrow and tilted his head back to meet her gaze, his lips pursed in thought. "Are you sure that's okay?" he questioned, and she nodded.

"Of course it is," she insisted. "Ryota's such a sweet boy, and I don't want anyone to be alone during the holidays."

Well, " _sweet"_ was much too kind a word for what Kise was, but Kasamatsu couldn't argue that he didn't want his kouhai to be alone. So, he'd gotten to his feet, thrown on his winter coat, and trotted outside in the direction of the Kise household.

The walk was short, as it was cold and Kasamatsu decided to jog to keep himself a bit warmer. He reached the large apartment in about fifteen minutes, and headed up to the front door to knock.

After a few moments, it became apparent that no one was going to answer the door, so Kasamatsu tried the handle. Locked, as he'd expected. He leaned back, thought for a moment, and the trotted around to the other side of the building. There was a flimsier door out back, and that way, he could break in to see if Kise was sulking in his room or something.

He turned the corner and rammed directly into something tall, wet, and ice cold. He lost his balance and tumbled forward, knocking the snowman down with him. He landed on his stomach in the slush, and lay there for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Senpai! You killed my snowman!"

The whiny voice and heavy footsteps were familiar, and Kasamatsu looked up to lock his steel blue eyes with golden ones. Kise had reached him and the fallen snowman and was looking down at them in disappointment. "He's dead now," the underclassman complained, bending down to see if any of the snowman was salvageable.

It was not.

Kasamatsu felt his temper rise a bit at the fact that Kise seemed much more concerned with the snowman than him, and he sat up with a small groan. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," he muttered sarcastically, and wiped a bit of excess snow off of his reddening nose. Kise's cheeks were already flushed from the cold, and he was half-soaked in melted snow. Not wanting to go off on a tangent about a stupid snowman, Kasamatsu decided to cut to the chase. "You weren't answering my calls."

"I wasn't?" Kise blinked a few times, looking more than confused, and then patted his pockets, presumably to look for his phone. Realization dawned on his face. "I must've left my phone inside."

Kasamatsu scrubbed a hand over his face. "How long have you been out here?"

"What time is it?"

Kasamatsu checked his own phone. "Four thirty-six."

"Two hours, then?"

A sigh escaped Kasamatsu before he could prevent it. "Aren't you cold?"

"Yeah."

Another sigh. "Don't you think you should go - oh, I don't know - inside, then?" Kasamatsu patronized, arching an eyebrow in annoyance.

"Sure. Maybe." Kise didn't look too intent on the idea. Instead of heading for the door, he moved to fix his snowman.

Kasamatsu rolled his eyes and bent down to help. "So, I saw online that your family's out on business," he started slowly, unsure of how Kise was going to react.

"Uh-huh." That was it. Two cheerful syllables with no real emotion behind them at all.

"So..."

"So?"

The captain scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So, my mom was wondering if you wanted to come to our house for the night. You know. She doesn't want you to be alone on Christmas..."

A sad smile ghosted across Kise's lips. "Your mom, hunh?"

"And, you know, maybe me, too," Kasamatsu replied lamely, feeling his cheeks warm up due to something akin to embarrassment - there was no avoiding being sappy this time around. "I was worried. _I_ didn't want you to be alone."

"Senpai..." Kise breathed, his golden eyes watering instantaneously, and before Kasamatsu knew it, he was being tackled to the ground by his over-eager kouhai.

Kasamatsu landed on his back in the snow, with the model on top of him sobbing profusely into the front of his coat. "I didn't want to be alone and I was so sad and I miss my family and I missed you guys and it's Christmas and I wanted to call you but I didn't want to bother you because I knew you would be spending time with your family and I wasn't and I was so lonely and sad and I didn't know what to do! Thank you, senpai!" Kise burst out in one go, sucking in a steadying breath at the end and continuing to cry into Kasamatsu's chest. And, for the first time, Kasamatsu couldn't really blame him. He wasn't sure what he'd do without his parents and little brothers on Christmas, and the thought of being alone on Christmas day was miserable. Without really thinking, he brought a hand up to rub Kise's back for a few moments, and then lightly swat the back of his head. Kise looked up in surprise, his eyes round and snot dripping from his bright red nose.

"You're an idiot. You've never cared about bothering me before," Kasamatsu scolded gently, not wanting to truthfully get onto him. Not during Christmas, when he was so sad already. There was no sense in it. "You can always call if you need me. If I can answer you at three a.m. on a school night, then I can very well answer you on Christmas eve."

Kise looked like he was about to launch into another round of sobs, so Kasamatsu pushed him lightly away. He'd gotten enough Kise snot on his jacket for the day, thank you very much. "How about we go back to my house and get you warmed up. Sound good, Rudolph?" he teased, flicking the golden young man's red nose to emphasize his point.

The model's eyes lit up with excitement, and the remnants of the tears that remained in them rolled sluggishly down his cheeks. "Senpai's mean!" he whined, though he didn't sound as put-out as usual. He got to his feet and then helped his poor, battered senpai up as well. Kasamatsu had had enough laying in the snow for one day.

"Yes, the senpai who is going to bring you to his house and give you hot chocolate and cookies and your present and let you sleep in his room is mean. That makes sense," Kasamatsu retaliated sarcastically, and Kise's eyebrows shot up.

"My present?"

"What?"

"You said you were going to give me my present."

Kasamatsu's cheeks warmed up again in embarrassment. "No, I didn't. You misheard me or something, idiot. Why would I get you a present?"

Kise must have been pretty sure that he hadn't misheard, for he was bouncing in excitement, a bright grin across his flushed face. "I got you a present, too, senpai! Hang on; I'll go get it!"

He rushed back into the house, and came back out with a small box in one hand and a bag of what must have been pajamas and other spend-the-night necessities in the other. He thrust the box into Kasamatsu's hands, looking positively giddy with joy. "Open it!"

"I can't open it now, moron. It's not Christmas yet," Kasamatsu chided gently, and though Kise looked crestfallen, he relented and allowed Kasamatsu to lead him to his family's house.

* * *

As promised, the Kasamatsu family loaded him down with hot chocolate and cookies and blankets. And there might have been a suspicious present wrapped in shiny royal blue paper labeled "To: Kise" under the tree. But, as senpai had said, it was not Christmas yet, so Kise decided that he could wait. For now, it was nice to have Mister and Miss Kasamatsu telling him stories, and it was great to have senpai's two little brothers questioning Kise about basketball and Teiko's Generation of Miracles. They spent hours talking and singing Christmas carols and watching cheesy American Christmas movies.

And that night, right around twelve-o-clock, as Kise settled down in the pull-out bed that was stored under Kasamatsu's American-styled one, it was more than great to have Kasamatsu shift around to peek over the side and point at the digital clock on the nightstand with a smile that Kise didn't even know his senpai was capable of expressing.

"Hey, guess what." Senpai's tone was gentle and excited - like a little kid's, Kise thought. "It's officially December twenty-fifth."

Kise arched an eyebrow and couldn't prevent the smirk that broke out on his own lips. "Merry Christmas, senpai," he responded, and Kasamatsu reached down to ruffle his kouhai's blond hair affectionately.

"Merry Christmas, Kise."

* * *

 **Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I hope the chapter was okay. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything for Kaijo Days - college is hard, and I haven't had any muse for the story up until now. Christmas is the absolute best day of the year!**

 **Read, review, favorite, follow, pm me - I don't bite!**

 **God bless you! Stay safe and warm this holiday season!**

 **Merry Christmas!**

 **-anim8or**


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